BOB:  It was a health -- Simon was the first one, I guess he take care of some -- some people that sick.  Then went on to somebody else again.  And they have a -- in the old days, they have a, what they call mother's care or what they call them.  In the old days, long ago.  Then --

MARLA:  Someone coming in from -- from another village was taking care of people, or --

BOB:  No.  Nobody come in from the other villages to take care of people.
 
MARLA:  People just took care of each other?
 
BOB:  It was kind of Dr. Irving and Bob Rausch I think started the health aide thing to take care of people then.  No medicine, nothing.  All they had was penicillin, kind you have to mix with water.
 
MARLA:  Right. 

BOB:  That's the kind.  I mean, you have to boil the water before you -- you use it.  Put it on -- mix it with the penicillin.
 
From there I was voted in.  I didn't know, I didn't look for job, but I was voted in and I went training.
 
They had contact with Tanana Hospital in those days, yeah.  That's where village school.  Some help from Barrow and the Indian Health, they sent people to Tanana for treatment or ladies with having baby, they send them to Tanana. 

It was Alaska Airlines, they don't have much plane go like it comes once a week or -- or every two weeks or something like that.  That's Wien Bush plane, small one from Bettles, Wien Alaska Airline got a little plane down Bettles, and Bettles started taking care of mail service and from Bettles to here maybe once a week, something like that.  And --

MARLA:  So who -- who selected you to be a health aide?
 
BOB:  I was selected sort of -- they voted me and everybody, like, voted, you know. 

MARLA:  Like just the whole village got together --

BOB:  Yeah.
 
MARLA:  -- and they said that Bob would be a good health aide?
 
BOB:  Yeah.  I'm going to be a health aide.  Somebody come around from Fairbanks, I think, looking for health aide to go to training.  Of course, I was not involved with anything, you know.  All I know is a little bit about health and first-aid kit I saw, that's about it. 

MARLA:  And during that flu, you and Bob Rausch were the only ones going around, and Dr. Irving?
 
BOB:  Yeah.
 
MARLA:  Giving penicillin and taking care of people?
 
BOB:  Yeah. 

MARLA:  You didn't get sick?
 
BOB:  I didn't -- I didn't get sick.  Somehow, I -- I never got it.  So then everybody got well, springtime.  Pretty nice.  But we lose quite a few people that year. 

MARLA:  Yeah.